The Deal Economy

When it comes to rebates there are two sides of the story: customer rebates and supplier rebates. How to differentiate the two can cause confusion. So, to explain the difference between customer rebates and supplier rebates we will take a different approach and think of them like a tango, rather than a war.

What are customer rebates?

Customer rebates is a term applied to the business process where a company is managing the rebate liabilities they have out to their customers: rebate monies they’re going to pay to their customers at some point in the future.

As experts in rebate management, we have come across (and have helped to fix) many problems with rebate management spanning commercial, financial and operational processes.

In this article we focus on the financial side where most issues revolve around accuracy, predictability and auditability. These are usually among the key drivers of our customers’ business cases in defining their requirements and selecting Enable to manage their rebates.

In our experience, when our customers get these financial areas right, they win the battle for trust and confidence in their figures, thus allowing commercial and operational teams to make better, more profitable trading decisions.

Rebates are prevalent in many industries because they can have a significant impact on a business’s bottom-line. A buyer agrees to purchase a certain volume, or value of a seller’s goods. Once the purchase has been made, the seller refunds a proportion of the price they’ve paid. But although they sound manageable, we have found that 4% of potential rebate revenue typically goes unclaimed which can mean many industries are missing out on hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. This is becaus...Continue reading

At Enable we see a lot of different types of deals, from simple examples like loyalty rebates where you get a percentage off a product or to more complex where specific behaviours are trying to be incentivised like a particular product range being pushed by a manufacturers especially if it’s new to the market.

Complexity can allow you to target more specific behaviours but it’s important that both parties have clarity otherwise you could end up with disputes over money.

In this video, Neil Jenkins covers how to handle these complex deals and ensure they remain a useful tool for your business.

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In today’s business world, the finance department including the CFOs are expected to deliver accurate information more quickly than ever. But with large volumes of information, data is spread across an array of sources such as spreadsheets, emails, and paperwork; which only increases the likelihood of errors and inconsistencies in the process. Companies are struggling to effectively manage, store and access this data wherever and whenever it might be. These manual financial processes are causi...Continue reading

Right now our customers, our communities, and the world at large are facing unprecedented challenges. To overcome the impacts of COVID-19, it’s important that we work together. In that spirit, we wanted to share some of the things we’re doing to help safeguard our customers, our employees, and our wider society. Providing free access to Enable solutions There’s never been a more difficult time to run a business, so we wanted to do something to make life easier. That’s why we’re now offering our...Continue reading

Companies around the world are shifting to global supply chains, which although allows companies to source materials and manufacture products more cost-effectively it comes with many challenges. It can make it more difficult to connect with the right people in the supply chain, resolve concerns, and respond quickly to changes and unexpected events otherwise known as supply chain disruption. According to Zurich insider, 51.9% of organizations experienced supply chain disruption in 2019. And agai...Continue reading

Businesses that plan together, succeed together. But whenever a business makes a deal with another business, it needs to be approved on both sides. And getting that approval can be a slow, inefficient process. With multiple teams and individuals involved, it’s all too easy for delays and errors to creep in. A deal gets sent to the wrong person, or it sits for days in someone’s inbox. Steps aren’t recorded, and soon there’s no clear audit trail. Productivity, cashflow, compliance, business relat...Continue reading

Negotiating B2B contracts is a regular activity, both sides want to get the best deal possible. By negotiating you can achieve a contract that is fair, reasonable and beneficial to both parties — even helping to boost company profitability and improve goodwill and collaboration between trading partners. In order to do this, most businesses will have a highly skilled team dedicated to reaching the best deal for their organisation. Savvy contract negotiating skills are a real plus when entering...Continue reading

As wholesale electronics gets more competitive, distributors must find ways to grow revenues and protect margin. Maximizing the value of supplier agreements should be a priority. On paper, this is a great time to be an electronics distributor. The market for components has been growing every year, according to Statista, and doesn’t show any signs of stopping. Market Research Future predicts 10% CAGR until 2022 for active components, while Zion Market Research sees a huge 23% CAGR for Internet o...Continue reading

In a typical trading relationship, we have three main parties: the manufacturer, distributor and the end user who is the customer. The relationship we are focusing on today is the manufacturer and the distributor. We know that without distributors, manufacturers would struggle with getting their products to customers, and without manufacturers, distributors would have nothing to sell. The distributor is essentially the customer expert, while the manufacturer is the expert on designing, developin...Continue reading

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When setting prices for your products or services, you always need to keep in mind the volume of sales you will get, the profits you will make, and even the way your brand is perceived. Rebates and discounts are distinct forms of cost reductions which directly or indirectly promote the overall sales of a business. Both pricing terms may sound similar, however, there is a considerable difference between discount and rebates which we explore in more detail below. What is a discount? Discounts are...Continue reading